The photo comes from a moment in an online conversation with a coaching client. LOVE MY JOB!

We aren’t face-to-face as business people today, but there is possibility to claim the engagement of real time and H2H Human2Human connection in this digital moment. The eye contact ,the gestures, the smile, leaning in! Even on ZOOM!

Let’s talk about getting you ENGAGED so your network isn’t a folder of digital addresses, but a heartbeat of connecting engagement onscreen that can lead to what we know the future is — a hybrid network formed in online and realtime moments. Here’s a few of my tips to ENGAGE that fit into my Model of Networking called ACE, that makes you an authentic connector by employing ASSOCIATE.CREATE. ENGAGE as your guide. You can see a 2 min Big Chair Video to hear me talk about how ENGAGEment fits in my ACE Networking model.

The Meaning of ENGAGE in ACE

My Networking Strategy of ASSOCIATE. CREATE. ENGAGE is a flow that is circular. I find that if I keep my awareness of who I want to be with online (ASSOCIATE) and how I want to brand myself quickly online (CREATE), I have an easy time getting people to notice me in the digital world so I they open up to let me ENGAGE with them on a regular basis… or if I fall out of synch with people, it’s easy to get back to where we were if I engaged authentically. It’s a never ending circle of connection as you light touch relationships to keep the flow. But as a marketer I know the value of a story, so if it’s been a long time between touching a contact…identify one moment of genuine pleasure with that person. as you reach out That short story shows how you value them. It’s a real attempt to connect… not just a digital “drive by.”

BONUS TIPS to ENGAGE

In my short video, there’s tips for doing that. But in this post, let me stress the need for you to take stock of what you did “BZ”… before ZOOM! …and try to use those human features of your identity in communication online. It you were always outgoing… then hop on LinkedIN or go through your contacts and start reconnecting. A good way to do this is create a short line or two to text or email or vm record on LinkedIN that simply says something like…”I’m thinking of you, and I hope all is well. You are someone I valued before this crisis, and I want to check in..” I have many circles of people that I call Fast 15’s… grouped for industry or associations… I reach out to as many as I can over a week…you’d be surprised at the willingness of people to engage in a short email conversation or even suggest a chat.

If you are new at networking, I would set my engagement sights on attending many small content sessions connected to associations you have joined, or just recently joined. Practice asking questions in the chat. That way you can be connected to the speaker or panelists. Then head for LinkedIN and send a respectful thank you for their information and ask to be connected. Following that, you can show genuine interest in a followup email about something you took down in your notes about them! Don’t sell—- tell genuinely!

If you are trying to spark a relationship or re-start one… make sure you have CREATED a good digital footprint on you social media channels. People engage with people they like. And that can happen… just as in real time in 10 seconds!